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Will all people eventually be saved? Will all evil finally turn to good, or does some evil remain fully and stubbornly opposed to God and God's goodness? Will even the devil be redeemed?

The question of the devil's final salvation has been continuously debated since the time of Origen. This comprehensive book surveys the history of Christian universalism from the second to the twenty-first century and offers an interpretation of how and why universalist belief arose. Michael McClymond explores what the church has taught about universal salvation and hell and offers a critique of universalism from a biblical, philosophical, and theological standpoint. He shows that the effort to extend grace to everyone undermines the principle of grace for anyone.

Contents

Volume 1AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsPrologueIntroduction0.1. Uncovering a Gnostic-Kabbalist-Esoteric Tradition0.2. Linking Esoteric Universalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam0.3. Two Christian Strands: Origenism and Böhmism0.4. The Theme of Divine Self-Alienation and Self-Return0.5. Contrasts between Esoteric and Exoteric Christian Theologies0.6. Theological Issues: Preexistence, Wisdom, Punishment, and Rationalism0.7. The Late Twentieth-Century Tilt toward Universalism0.8. Divine Drama in Bulgakov, Barth, Balthasar, Tillich, and Moltmann0.9. Scripture, Reason, and Experience in Universalist Argumentation0.10. A Theological Irony: Universalism's Eclipse of Grace1. Final Salvation: Church Teachings and Newer Views1.1. Mainline Protestants: The Turn toward Universalism1.2. Roman Catholics: Traditionalists versus "Hopeful Universalists"1.3. Eastern Orthodoxy: Official Teachings and Private Opinions1.4. Evangelicals, Pentecostals, and Charismatics: Newcomers to Universalism1.5. Should Everyone Be Told? Universalism as a Secret Gospel1.6. Christ's Descent to the Dead and the Larger Hope1.7. The Old Catholic Purgatory and the New1.8. Protestants Debating Hell: From the Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries1.9. Recent Catholic Discussions of Death and Hell1.10. British Evangelicals and the Debate over Conditionalism1.11. Summary and Conclusions on Church Teachings2. Ancient Afterlives: The Gnostic, Kabbalist, and Esoteric Roots of Christian Universalism2.1. Near Eastern and Greco-Roman Cultures: From Shadows to Immortal Souls2.2. Jewish Afterlives: Bodies, Souls, Resurrection, and Judgment2.3. Evidence for Second- and Third-Century Gnostic Universalism2.4. Medieval Gnosis: Catharist Universalism2.5. Core Concepts of Kabbalah2.6. Universalist Tendencies in Kabbalah2.7. Early Christian Cabala: Guillaume Postel2.8. Dutch Jews in the 1600s: The Morteira-Aboab Debate on Eternal Punishment2.9. Multilevel Heavens in Swedenborgianism and Mormonism2.10. The Universalism of Sadhu Sundar Singh2.11. Gnostic and Esoteric Models for Reunion with the Divine2.12. Summary and Conclusions on Gnostic, Kabbalistic, and Esoteric Universalisms3. "The End Is Like the Beginning": Origen and Origenism, 200-410 CE3.1. The Modern Rehabilitation of Origen and Origenism3.2. The Question of Origen's Texts3.3. Clement of Alexandria and the Question of Universalism3.4. Origen's Intellectual Backdrop and Cosmic Vision3.5. The Vexatious Issue of Preexistent Souls3.6. Origen's Theology: God, Souls, Angels, Demons, Salvation, and the Eschaton3.7. Origen's Biblical Interpretation and the Cleansing Fire of Conscience3.8. Debated Issues on Origen and the Arguments of the Anti-Origenians3.9. Gregory of Nyssa's Revised Origenism3.10. Final Confluence in Evagrius of Pontus3.11. The First Origenist Controversy, I: Beginnings under Epiphanius3.12. The First Origenist Controversy, II: Conflict in Egypt under Theophilus3.13. The First Origenist Controversy, III: The Jerome-Rufinus Debate3.14. Summary and Conclusions on Origen and Origenism, 200-410 CE4. "That God May Be All in All": Origen and Origenism, 410-1700 CE4.1. Fifth-Century Coptic Anti-Origenism: Shenoute of Atripe4.2. Non-Universalist Syriac Authors: Aphrahat, Ephrem, Isaac of Antioch, and Narsai4.3. Augustine's Conceptual Analysis and Critique of Origen4.4. Hierarchical Neoplatonism: Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite4.5. Stephen bar Sudaili and the Book of the Holy Hierotheos4.6. Bar Sudaili and Thirteenth-Century Mesopotamia: Bar Hebraeus, George Washnaya, and Simon the Persecuted4.7. Sixth-Century Origenism in the Letters of Severus of Antioch and Barsanuphius4.8. Maximus the Confessor's Critique of Origenism4.9. The Universalist Theology of Isaac the Syrian4.10. The Speculative System of John Scotus Eriugena4.11. Thomas Aquinas as a Critic of Origen4.12. Soundings in European Origenism, 1200-1650 CE4.13. Origenism in Seventeenth-Century England: Rust, Parker, and Conway4.14. Origenism's "Swan Song": The Bayle-Le Clerc Exchange4.15. Toward Universalist Rationalism: Andrew Michael Ramsay and David Hartley4.16. Summary and Conclusions on Origen and Origenism, 410-1700 CE5. "In Yes and No All Things Consist": The Theosophic World of Jakob Böhme and the Böhmists of Germany, England, America, France, and Russia5.1. Jakob Böhme: Life and Legend5.2. Divergent Interpretations of Böhme's Thought5.3. An Outline and Summary of Böhme's Theology5.4. The Böhmist Shift to Universalism5.5. Böhmist Receptions: Sectarian, Churchly, Esoteric, Literary, and Philosophical5.6. Johann Georg Gichtel and the Early German Böhmists5.7. Gerrard Winstanley, Jane Lead, and the Philadelphian Movement in England5.8. Johann and Johanna Petersen and German and German-American Pietistic Universalism5.9. British Böhmism: William Law, George MacDonald, Andrew Jukes, and Thomas Erskine5.10. Universalism against a Backdrop of French Illuminism, Esotericism, and Occultism5.11. Martines de Pasqually and the Emergence of French Martinism5.12. Martinism under Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin5.13. The Rise of Russian Böhmism prior to Solovyov5.14. Summary and Conclusions on Böhme and Böhmist Universalism6. A House Divided: The Rise and Fall of the Anglo-American Universalists6.1. Sectarians and Pietists: German Roots of American Universalism6.2. George de Benneville and Paul Siegvolck's Everlasting Gospel6.3. Caleb Rich and Body-Soul Dualism6.4. James Relly and Calvinistic Universalism6.5. John Murray and Rellyan Universalism in America6.6. Elhanan Winchester and Transatlantic Restorationist Universalism6.7. From Calvinism to Universalism to Unitarianism in Britain6.8. Hosea Ballou and the Restorationist Controversy6.9. Internal Tensions and Contradictions in Anglo-American Universalism6.10. Summary and Conclusions on Anglo-American UniversalismVolume 27. German Thinkers: Kant and Müller, Schleiermacher and Hegel, Schelling and Tillich7.1. The Kantian Legacy of Transcendental Selfhood7.2. Müller's Quasi-Origenist Non-universalism7.3. Schleiermacher on Universal Election and Human Solidarity7.4. Hegel as Rationalist and Esotericist7.5. Hegel and the Consummation of Absolute Spirit7.6. A Theological Critique of Hegel's Thought7.7. Schelling's Speculative Reinterpretation of Creation, Fall, and Redemption7.8. Tillich's "Half-Way Demythologization" of the Fall and Restoration of Souls7.9. Summary and Conclusions on German Thinkers8. Russian Thinkers: Solovyov, Berdyaev, Florovsky, and Bulgakov8.1. The Russian Background, I: Orthodoxy, Idealism, and Böhmism8.2. The Russian Background, II: Freemasonry and Esotericism8.3. Vladimir Solovyov and the Roots of Russian Sophiology8.4. Solovyov's Universalist Vision of "All-Unity"8.5. Nicolas Berdyaev and Hell's Irresolvable Paradoxes8.6. The Metaphysical Foundations of Sergius Bulgakov's Dogmatics8.7. Bulgakov and Florovsky in the Sophiological Debate8.8. Bulgakov's The Bride of the Lamb and the Arguments for Universalism8.9. Summary and Conclusions on Russian Thinkers9. Debating Universal Election: Karl Barth, Barth's Interpreters, Jürgen Moltmann, and the Post-1970s Kenotic-Relational Theologies9.1. Interpretive Prologue: Post-1960s Interpretations of Barth's Theology9.2. Biographical Prologue: Barth and the Hellfire Preacher in 19169.3. Barth on Election: An Overview9.4. Barth on Israel's Election and the Jewish People9.5. Barth on Election in the New Testament and Christian Tradition9.6. Barth on the Logos Asarkos and Eternal Godmanhood9.7. Barth on Nothingness (das Nichtige) and the "Impossibility" of Sin9.8. Barth's Interpreters on the Question of Universalism9.9. Barth's Ambiguous Legacy: From the 1950s to the 1980s9.10. Jürgen Moltmann and the God-with-Us in Suffering9.11. Evaluating Moltmann's Universalist Theology9.12. The Rise of Kenotic-Relational Theologies since the 1990s9.13. Apocalypse Now: Congdon's Neo-Bultmannian Universalism9.14. Summary and Conclusions on Barth, Moltmann, and Post-1970s Theologies10. Embracing Universal Hope: Karl Rahner, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and the Inclusivist, Plurocentrist, and Universalist Turns in Roman Catholicism10.1. Henri de Lubac and Catholic Debates on Nature and Grace10.2. Karl Rahner's "Anonymous Christians" and Post-Vatican II Theology10.3. The Ambitious and Ambiguous Cosmology of Teilhard de Chardin10.4. The Theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar: A General Sketch10.5. Balthasar's Roots: Church Fathers, Russian Thinkers, and Karl Barth10.6. Balthasar's Theological Relation to Adrienne von Speyr10.7. Balthasar's Theo-drama and the Idea of Urkenosis10.8. Balthasar on Eschatology Generally10.9. Balthasar's Dare We Hope? and Universal Salvation10.10. Summary and Conclusions on Roman Catholicism and Universalism11. New Theologies in the New Millennium: The Variety of Contemporary Universalisms11.1. Character of the New Millennium Universalist Literature11.2. Liberal and Esoteric Universalism: Gulley, Mulholland, and Pearson11.3. The Philosophical Universalism of Thomas Talbott11.4. The Evangelical Universalism of Robin Parry11.5. Evangelical Revisionism in Frank, Bell, and Kruger11.6. Pentecostal Preachers of Grace: Dunn, du Toit, Rabe, and Crowder11.7. Summary and Conclusions on Contemporary Universalisms12. The Eclipse of Grace: An Appraisal of Christian Universalism12.1. The Cumulative Argument: A Survey of Preceding Chapters12.2. The Problem of God in Christian Universalism12.3. The Problem of Grace in Christian Universalism12.4. The Problem of Belief in Christian Universalism12.5. Christian Universalism and the Challenge of Evil12.6. Christian Particularism and the Call to HopeAppendix A: Gnosis and Western Esotericism: Definitions and LineagesAppendix B: Zoroastrian EschatologyAppendix C: Anti-Origenist Declarations in the Early Church: From Alexandria, Jerusalem, Rome, and ConstantinopleAppendix D: Ramelli's The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis (2013)Appendix E: The Sefiroth: A Kabbalistic DiagramAppendix F: Universal Salvation in Islamic Teaching Islamic Eschatology and Qur'anic Teaching Philosophical Foundations in Ibn al-'Arabi Hell's Cooling and Final Salvation in Ibn al-'Arabi The Universalistic Theology of Jalal al-Din Rumi The Jurist Ibn Taymiyya and His Pupil Ibn QayyimAppendix G: Types of Christian UniversalismAppendix H: The Cosmic Saga: An Esoteric ViewAppendix I: Ultra-Dispensational UniversalismAppendix J: Words and Concepts for Time and EternityAppendix K: Mormon Teachings on God, Cosmos, and SalvationAppendix L: Barth and Bultmann on Romans 5Index of Ancient SourcesIndex of Subjects

Endorsements

"The Devil's Redemption is an ambitious, wide-ranging theology of universalism in the Western tradition and its analogues elsewhere. The impressive scope of the work is supported by rigorous analysis and interpretation and aided by clarity of style and presentation. McClymond gathers many different intellectual strands across time and space and weaves them into a coherent statement about the nature and scope of evil and redemption. Without question, the book will establish itself as a standard work of scholarship in the field, and for that McClymond deserves the gratitude of the guild."

Lamin Sanneh, D. Willis James Professor of Missions and World Christianity, Yale Divinity School, and professor of history and professor of international and area studies, Yale University

"More and more evangelicals seem to be willing to consider the possibility that, because God is love, each and every person who has ever lived will eventually be saved. What are we to make of this soteriological mission creep? McClymond's magisterial study provides both a thorough historical investigation of the ancient and modern roots of Christian universalism and a thoughtful theological evaluation of their presuppositions, claims, and consequences. He shows that what on the surface appears to be not simply good but the best news--if universal salvation is indeed better than the traditional good news of salvation in Christ for those who have faith--on closer analysis ends up undermining the logic of the biblical gospel and of Christian orthodoxy. It turns out that grace that is necessary is no longer grace, but that to which creatures are entitled. Important issues require important books, and McClymond has produced what I suspect will be the definitive treatment of Christian universalism for years to come."

"The question of universalism seems to be a rather simple controversy. On the one hand, if the eternal, all-good God has the power to save all his rational creatures, then surely He would do so; on the other hand, Scripture and Tradition speak explicitly against universal salvation. In this magnum opus, Michael McClymond tells a different story, one that exposes universalism's extraordinary historical breadth and complexity. This is a page-turner that both sides will have to read."

"This book is indeed a tour de force, everything you wanted to know about Christian universalism and more. Meticulously crafted and copiously referenced, this will set the standard on the subject for years to come."

Allan H. Anderson, University of Birmingham (UK)

"As Michael McClymond demonstrates in this timely magnum opus, the overwhelming majority of Christians down through the ages have rejected universalism. However, very few Christians know the history of this rejection--not to mention the reasons some have favored universalism and often suffered for it. This book is now the best place to start learning this history. It is a tour de force of historical theology."

Douglas A. Sweeney, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"Erudite! Encyclopedic! Exhaustive! A universal discussion that leaves no stone unturned, no stream uncharted, and no argument untouched. Even as McClymond is unflinching in defending the historic orthodox consensus against the idea of universal salvation, his is a generous orthodoxy, the persuasiveness of which undoubtedly rests at least in part on his having taken time to listen to marginal voices and seriously grapple with the broadest extent of their claims within local and even global contexts. It will be a long time before universalist theologians will be able to make a compelling case that is as comprehensive as that of The Devil's Redemption."

"A timely and fascinating book on a crucial topic that probably only an omnicompetent historical theologian like Michael McClymond could write. McClymond shows that while the notion of universal salvation has attractive features, it does not have a very encouraging spiritual or theological track record in the history of the church."

"This tome by Michael McClymond is a theological bombshell. The first-ever complete history of the doctrine of universal salvation, it is a devastating demolition of the supposition that universalism can be sustained with exegetical or systematic integrity."

Gerald McDermott, Beeson Divinity School; author of Everyday Glory: The Revelation of God in All of Reality

"Why would one write a treatise on universalism as large as this one? The answer is simple: universalism is a widespread and increasingly popular notion not just in Christianity but also in Judaism and Islam. Moreover, its affirmation affects everything in the Christian faith and ultimately renders grace meaningless. With immense erudition, the author traces the notion of universalism through the centuries; introduces us to its proponents from the Christian fold and elsewhere; and convincingly shows that it relies on a nonliteral interpretation of Scripture and a substantial rejection of church tradition, freely borrowing from other sources such as the paranormal and the esoteric. These two volumes provide us with a wealth of insights, an enormous amount of carefully laid-out material, and important conclusions."

"The Devil's Redemption is an outstanding work, covering the development of Christian universalism from the second century to the twenty-first and not forgetting its connections to its Jewish and Islamic counterparts. The book's erudite investigation is sustained by a solid and consistent philosophical-theological background that allows the author to make his main points in a straightforward way. McClymond makes an extremely strong case against universalism, revealing its weak metaphysical presuppositions as well as its historical failures. This is certainly a must-read book not only for specialists but also for every educated Christian in a time like ours, when universalism has an unparalleled appeal."

"McClymond's study is an in-depth historical and systematic theological critique of Christian universalism--the idea that not only are all people saved but that they are all saved through Christ. This book is a stunning achievement in several ways. First, it takes seriously the arguments in defense of Christian universalism by examining how biblical exegesis, church tradition, rational argumentation (both philosophical and theological), and personal experience enter into these arguments. Second, McClymond shows the interconnection of the issue of universalism with everything the Christian faith has to say about God's love and justice; human nature; sin; freedom; Jesus's life, death on the cross, resurrection, and ascension; the Holy Spirit; the nature of the church; and the second coming of Christ. And if that weren't enough, McClymond provides a rich historical perspective on Christian universalism by discussing its representative proponents and critics. Offering an extraordinary opportunity for critical dialogue in our current culture of universalism, this book simply could not have come at a better time."

The Author

Michael J. McClymond

Michael J. McClymond (PhD, University of Chicago) is professor of modern Christianity at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. He previously held teaching or research appointments at Wheaton College, Westmont College, University of California-San...

Reviews

2018 Book Award Winner, The Gospel Coalition (Academic Theology)

"It's not uncommon to hear some book touted as 'definitive' or 'magisterial.' Usually the hype is overblown. Every now and then, it's not. This is one of the exceptions. The Devil's Redemption truly is, as the back cover states, 'the definitive treatment on universalism for years to come.' Nearly 1,400 pages, McClymond goes wide and deep to survey the history of universalist ideas. He shows how universalism necessarily impinges on other doctrines, and he exposes the tragic irony that universalism, far from preserving grace, eclipses it."